Category: Going Places

My travelogue.

Christchurch and Queenstown Trip (25/12/12-2/1/13) – Part 2

Posted on By sweet surrender No Comments on Christchurch and Queenstown Trip (25/12/12-2/1/13) – Part 2

Early in the morning, we prepared to check-out to go on the bus tour to Queenstown. We almost got left behind but luckily the driver came into the lobby to ask while we were checking out. We were supposed to wait outside early before the bus arrived but because of one hairdryer, my friend had to go back up to get it and the bus came that time and I was still at the counter waiting for her. When I saw the bus I thought it should be another one, shouldn’t be this. He was slightly early too. I didn’t realized it’s not Grayline’s bus, instead it’s another bus company, Great Sights, which was the partner of Grayline in Christchurch. -.-”

That’s the problem when you didn’t check your ticket properly and assume. Bad… It was a good thing too that we went down early or else we will be left behind because I booked the tour and my friend booked the accommodation, the driver won’t be able to locate anyone by then and drove off. This was our first heart attack for the trip. One lesson learnt!


Finally got on the bus safely. The journey starts…


We had our first stop at the visitor centre for toilet and tea break. It was about 45 minutes if not mistaken.


Amazing views along the way!


Never in my dream I will get to see such views with my own eyes. It’s always in photos or TV.


My friend was looking forward to go to Lake Tekapo as she was told that it’s a beautiful place. Didn’t even know what it’s all about ;p I went on this trip without doing much research, just book ticket, accommodation, and tour. Didn’t do any research on what to see or do here.


We’re here but it’s a very short stop. Only 15 minutes! We rushed through everything.


If not mistaken, there were two people who were left behind as they didn’t get back to the bus on time. The driver had warned us many many times to come back on time or being left behind. Good luck to those who got left behind and not having their luggage or things with them. They would also have to book another transport to their intended drop off location.


Left: The famous stone chapel at Lake Tekapo. It’s a polular place for weddings. Maybe one day when I found a loaded husband, I’ll have my wedding here too hahaha… I can only dream…

Right: Off we left the lake and was greeted with this view at the roadside. Amazing!

The journey will continue in the next post…

Going Places, Kia Ora - Christchurch & Queenstown

Christchurch and Queenstown Trip (25/12/12-2/1/13) – Part 1

Posted on By sweet surrender 2 Comments on Christchurch and Queenstown Trip (25/12/12-2/1/13) – Part 1

After christmas service in the morning, I headed home to do some last minute household chores and packing. Then off to airport I went.

Flew Jetstar. The return trip cost me almost AUD1000. Very expensive but what to do? At least it’s still cheaper than flying from Malaysia when I go home for good even after conversion.


Left: Flew from Adelaide to Melbourne and waited at the airport for 8 hours to fly to Christchurch.

Right: Arrived Christchurch at about 5am in the morning. Went around to look for breakfast and killing my time. Came across Burger King. It’s been a long time not seeing this name. In Australia, it’s known as Hungry Jack’s.


Left: Had my breakfast, bacon and egg muffin with hot chocolate.

Right: Waited with the others in airport. I went to my accommodation using Super Shuttle, much cheaper than using taxi. I waited until 7.30am since nothing out there before that. Paid NZD24 for the shuttle.



YMCA at Christhurch (12 Hereford Street). It took me ages to find an accommodation in Christchurch. Not easy at all! Many fully booked else many still not in operation due to the earthquake almost 2 years ago.

My friend and I secured the standard double room (NZD80/night) without ensuite one month before the trip. We had to share the bathroom with others. The room wasn’t bad for the price we paid but I just don’t like sharing bathroom with so many strangers. Luckily it’s just next to our room. We didn’t have to go far for toilet or shower. Very inconvenient and rather eeky -.-” It’s just me. In fact, it’s really good already if comparing it to other backpacker accommodations that my friend stayed before in Melbourne. The location of the place is very good! Near to many places. Luckily we only spent one night here as we were supposed to spend our final 3 night in Christchurch in the same type of room but we decided to fork out a bit more and asked the reception about availability of deluxe double room ($110/night) so that we can have our own bathroom and more privacy. Hehehe… Girls… Luckily! They managed to arrange us a room for that period of time. Phew… How happy!


After I got there and freshen up myself, we headed out for Boxing Day shopping! First we went to Dress Smart at Hornby where we found a number of outlets. Didn’t plan to buy anything but ended up bought a handbag (NZD10, it’s AU10 in Australia, so I got it cheaper in NZ), a pair of sunglasses (NZD10), and a dress (NZD3.50, amazing! The cheapest dress ever! We were shocked to find that it’s this cheap when the price tag wasn’t displaying it instead displaying different prices such as NZD12, NZD7, and NZD6 for the same last 3 dresses. We both bought it and one last one left on the rack). That’s all I bought for boxing day hahaha… No plan to shop actually, didn’t allocated the fund for it but it’s just too hard to resist.


Left: After shopping, we went to KFC for lunch. The lunch deal was great! NZD5 only! I had the Colonel burger + Chicken + coleslaw + mashed potato set. Where can you get this cheap?!?! Definitely cannot find it in Australia, even the cheapest also need to pay almost AUD6. I reserved the burger as my dinner.

Right: Next, we went to Westfield Riccarton and guess what?!?! We only bought a container of mix nuts in K-mart for NZD6 which was on offer and there’s no way to find this price in Australia even if they have sale for it.


After that, we called it a day and went back to our accommodation to prepare for the next day 12-hour Christchurch-Queenstown tour. So tired…

P/S: Ignore the extra “/12” in the photos hahaha… Too many “12” until I got myself confused.

Food Porn, Going Places, Kia Ora - Christchurch & Queenstown

Happy 2013!

Posted on By sweet surrender No Comments on Happy 2013!

I know I’m late. I just got back this morning. So tired~

Took more than 1500+ photos for the my New Zealand trip.

We welcomed the new year in Christchurch. It was such a cold night and we were so tired and sleepy from the eventful Queenstown trip. So many things happened and made us realized that God does look after us and things happened for reasons.

I brought NZD600 to spend for food, accommodation, and shopping. At the end, I left NZD5.90 *LOL* Supposed to have at least NZD20+ but I did a final splurge in the departure hall’s duty free shop hahaha…

Basically the following is the summary of my trip:

25th Dec 2012:
Fly from Adelaide to Melbourne and waiting for late night flight to Christchurch.

26th Dec 2012:
Arrive Christchurch early in the morning. After checking in, we went out for Boxing Day shopping! Didn’t shop much but managed to spend on things that I won’t regret. visited two shopping places but got all we need at the first one.

27th Dec 2012:
Tour the route from Christchurch to Queenstown via Mt. Cook. Breathtaking views! Never in my dream that I would see them with my own eyes. I finally did! No regret.

28th Dec 2012:
Supposed to join the tour to Milford Sound but was left behind by the bus even though we weren’t late!! Rather long story, will tell you more when I post about it. We ended up just walk around discover the town.

29th Dec 2012:
Milford Sound tour, another type of scenery. Also something I never thought I would see in my entire life.

30th Dec 2012:
Back to Chrustchurch, 8 hours bus ride. Reached there late, everywhere was closed and we ended up having the most expensive dinner and not-so-satisfying dinner at the casino (at least cheaper than all the other places which were opened after 5pm).

31st Dec 2012:
Went to Sumner beach in the afternoon. Then join the countdown at night at Hagley Park near our YMCA Christchurch. The crowd was well-behaved, amazing!

1st Jan 2013:
Went to 2 shopping malls, rather disappointed because we went to the biggest one on Boxing Day yet we didn’t even buy anything from there. Along the way, we also stop by Univeristy of Cantebury. Our last destination was Lyttelton Harbour.

2nd Jan 2013:
Check out from our accommodation and went to have a look at the botanical garden. Didn’t fully explore it. After that, we headed to the airport for our flight to Melbourne.

3rd Jan 2013:
Spent the whole night at Melbourne Airport waiting for my super early morning flight. Finally I’m back to Adelaide, home sweet home. So much relief.

The whole trip was rather eventful and almost wrecked us intellectually, physically, emotionally, and psychologically but it’s all good. Learnt a lot from it.

Will bombard you with this trip post this month. Hopefully can get it all done before February as there’s another trip in February and in March I’m going home for good.

So, what’s your new year’s resolutions? I don’t have all these while until last year. Thought I had achieved it but it was taken away from me in such short period of time. This year, it’s still the same one ;p.

Bulletin Board, Going Places, Randomness

Merry Christmas & Happy 2013

Posted on By sweet surrender No Comments on Merry Christmas & Happy 2013

When you see this post, I should be on my way to Melbourne.

Gonna head to Christchurch tonight and will reach there tomorrow morning.

I won’t be bringing my laptop with me, so my update on all the social media networks will slow down until one week later.

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy 2013! I’m gonna welcome the new year in New Zealand this year.

Enjoy and have fun. Remember to play safe 😉 May God bless all of you!

Bulletin Board, Finding Myself - Adelaide, Going Places